Underneath A Thousand Skies ✔️

21 Favoring Qie Over Wife (21)

Bo Yu felt as if her whole body had been submerged in ice. Instinctively, she looked up at the woman sitting near the doorway. The light from the window reached only halfway across the floor, stopping just short of her feet. Even in shadow, her red dress burned like a quiet flame.

There was still a smile on Song Jia's face, but her eyes were freezing.

"How sure are you that you saw Ruolan push sister Bai into the lotus pond? Would you stake your life on it?" Song Jia slowly approached her and used her index finger to tilt her chin upwards. "Because a lying servant...deserves to be beaten to death."

Her eyes were fixed on hers, making Bo Yu shiver. But having gone this far, she could not back out now. She jerked her chin away and pressed her forehead on the ground.

"Wang fei, nubi truly saw her pushing my mistress into the lotus pond! Nubi would never lie!"

Song Jia treated her words like air. "Oh? But what was Ruolan's motive for doing it? And furthermore, pushing sister Bai right in front of you. Do you think my maidservants are stupid?"

What her words truly meant was this: If you're trying to accuse me of orchestrating it, do you take me for a fool? Why would I leave a witness alive?

Song Jia shifted her gaze to Ruolan. Her voice was calm, almost indifferent.
"Ruolan, what were you doing there?"

"Nubi...nubi was going towards the kitchen for wang fei's silk nest candy when Bai ce fei called nubi over. Bai ce fei asked nubi if wang ye was still in the zhengfang, so nubi answered her."

Silk nest candy...Song Jia remembered. After her lunch with Zhao Cheng, she was craving for something sweet so she instructed Ruolan to go to the kitchen and tell them to make some silk nest candy. The shortest way to the kitchen was through the main garden, so it was only natural for Ruolan to encounter Bai Mei Lien there.

"I see. So Ruolan suddenly had the impulse to push sister Bai into the lotus pond for no reason at all? Or is it that you suspect I was the one who ordered her to do it?"

Her tone remained light, almost amused. "Tell me, do you truly believe that I—eldest daughter of Prime Minister Li, praised by His Majesty himself for being clever and upright—would resort to such a clumsy scheme? And if I truly wished to harm her, why would I only raise a fuss after the rice has already been cooked?"

Bo Yu paled. She knocked her head into the ground again, "Nubi...nubi doesn't dare!"

Hearing her words, Zhao Cheng remembered his wang fei's calm reaction when he told her that he was marrying Bai Mei Lien. There was not even a hint of a tantrum, or any indication at all that she was angry at him. If she was indeed against Bai Mei Lien, why would she only make a fuss now that she had already entered the wangfu? Wouldn't it better to not let Bai Mei Lien enter at all before...ahem...just as she said, the rice was already cooked between them?

Zhao Cheng never thought that it was a scheme of hers in the first place. As a wang fei, there were many ways that she could make life difficult for Bai Mei Lien without leaving any traces. But every time he visited Bai Mei Lien, she was always cared for and never lacked for anything. Why would she ruin it all by doing a stupid move?

If a scheme was so obvious that even a five-year old could point out the suspect, then it was a scheme to frame the suspected party and not the other way around.

Zhao Cheng frowned. His gaze turned towards Bai Mei Lien's servant.

"As for why I don't think Ruolan acted on her own and pushed sister Bai..." Song Jia's eyes flickered towards the stirring woman on the bed. "I think we can let the victim herself testify."

"Lien'er!"

Zhao Cheng leaned forward on the bed as Bai Mei Lien opened her eyes, his expression worried.

"Brother Cheng..." Her voice was soft and sweet, like a kitten's.

"Are you feeling alright?" He put a hand over her forehead. "You don't seem to have a fever. That's good."

When Bai Mei Lien saw Song Jia, she immediately struggled to get up.

"No need to pay your greetings, just rest well." Zhao Cheng held her back. He turned to Song Jia. "I know you want to ask some questions, but this case could wait until Lien'er completely recovers. And you...you should rest well too."

Lien'er...Jia'er...Song Jia inwardly rolled her eyes. This man, really...he was so easy for a woman to hate.

"Qie will only ask sister Bai a few questions, then qie will leave. Wang ye doesn't need to worry."

Zhao Cheng unconsciously felt that there was something wrong with her words, but he couldn't point it out. Since her suggestion wasn't too hard, he nodded.

Song Jia walked towards Bai Mei Lien and sat on the edge of the bed. Clasping her other hand, she said softly, "Sister Bai, when you fell into the lotus pond, did you see the person who pushed you?"

Bai Mei bit her lip in frustration. She had been taken off guard when she was pushed, so she didn't see the face of the culprit. "Nu...nu doesn't remember."

Song Jia nodded. It was just as she expected.

"Then, can Sister Bai recall the hand that pushed you? When it touched your back, did you feel anything hard beneath the palm?"

Bai Mei Lien was confused. A hard thing? What did wang fei mean? "Nu didn't feel anything hard when she was pushed off."

"Was the push light or forceful?"

"The push was forceful." Bai Mei Lien didn't fall into the middle of the lotus pond, but it was close.

Song Jia smiled. "That's all I want to hear. Thanking sister Bai for cooperating with me."

"Nu is honored to be of help to wang fei," Bai Mei Lien said humbly.

Song Jia stood up, her vermillion dress trailing on the floor as she walked back in front of Ruolan. Lifting the girl's dominant hand, she said indifferently, "It wasn't Ruolan."

A hush rippled through the room. Then Song Jia raised the girl's hand for all to see.

On Ruolan's finger was a bulky jadeite band ring. [1]

[1]

A/N: This case still isn't finished, but it's almost there~